Post-rally, a group of EMYR folks decided to take a trip over to Jordan to visit Petra. On our way, we visited Jerash and saw some more great Roman ruins and on our way back we visited Amman. Read More...

We visited three ports in Israel: Haifa, Ashkelon and Herzliya and took tours from those bases.
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We had a dolphIn escort to the EMYR rendezvous point outside the entrance to the Suez Canal. Hasan, the rally organizer, was onboard Valkyrie with us and his Bolero CD in the stereo seemed to be the correct music choice to attract dolphins and keep their attention for about one hour. Read More...

Our port of call in Lebanon was Jounieh, which is not far from Beirut. On the afternoon of our arrival, we headed off to Beirut, expecting to see a city ravaged by years of civil war. Instead we found an area reminiscent of a European city with brick-lined streets and sidewalk cafes surrounded by rehabbed buildings with wrought iron balconies. Read More...

We docked in Lattakia, Syria and then journeyed by bus to Damascus and Palmyra.
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In Iskenderun, we visited various sites in Antioch, including St. Peter's Church, a museum full of ancient mosaics and more. When we visited a castle, there were a lot of little children waiting to hand us wildflowers and weeds they had just picked. Read More...

Second stop for the EMYR was Mersin, Turkey. Ryan and I had some work to do on the boat, so we missed the tour to see St. Paul the Apostle's home in Tarsus. People returned with water from his well and dirt from a significant site. They also visited some other historically significant spots and enjoyed the tour. Read More...

In Northern Cyprus, the sights included a president, pirates, castles and a ghost town. At a reception in a castle along Girne's harbour, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktas, joined us. How often do you meet the leader of what most of the world considers a rogue nation?
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"Once upon a time there was an EMYR. No one really knew just what that meant. Was it a great bird from way down-under or an Arab leader in a tent?"

-- EMYR Rally song verse 1, written 1998

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